Crocodiles, anacondas, venomous snakes: Creatures great and small in Germany
Whether it's a crocodile in an allotment garden, an anaconda in a stream, or a snapping turtle on the loose — reports of escaped, abandoned, or confiscated exotic animals have been multiplying in Germany in recent times.
Anyone can easily purchase a rattlesnake or a crocodile at animal fairs or online — this is absurd and dangerous.
Germany urgently needs clear, nationwide regulations governing which animals are permitted as pets, demands Dr. Sandra Altherr, co-founder of the animal and species protection organisation Pro Wildlife.
The record of recent months is alarming:
- Quickborn (Schleswig-Holstein): Passers-by discovered a free-living anaconda in a stream at the beginning of June.
- Gimbsheim (Rhineland-Palatinate): On the same day, a reticulated python — one of the largest snake species in the world — briefly went missing from a private terrarium.
- Nordhausen (Thuringia): In May, a Nile crocodile along with several venomous and constrictor snakes were confiscated from an allotment garden.
- Kellinghusen (Schleswig-Holstein): A dangerous snapping turtle, which had presumably been abandoned, was also discovered in May.
- Duisburg (NRW): In August 2024, a venomous cobra was found in front of a medical practice.
- Pinneberg (Schleswig-Holstein): Emergency responders spent months last summer attempting unsuccessfully to locate a highly venomous African tree snake.
- Inadequate legislation endangers people and animals
- “These cases illustrate how inadequately the trade and private keeping of wild animals is regulated in Germany,” warns the Pro Wildlife spokesperson. “Even dangerous animals such as giant snakes, crocodiles, or venomous snakes can be kept without a permit in many places.”
While the purchase of rattlesnakes & Co. via animal fairs and the internet is easily possible, only ten of 16 federal states have any regulations for dangerous animals at all — and these vary greatly from one another. A nationwide dangerous animal registry or even a binding list of permitted animal species, a so-called positive list, is entirely absent to date.
Call for a Positive List
Pro Wildlife has therefore been calling for years for the introduction of a nationwide positive list that clearly defines which animals are at all suitable and permitted for private keeping. "A positive list would provide threefold protection: owners from unpleasant surprises, the public from dangerous escapes, and the animals themselves from inappropriate keeping," says Altherr. Other countries, such as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Malta, have long since adopted positive lists. Pro Wildlife calls on Federal Minister Alois Rainer to begin developing such a list in Germany as quickly as possible.
Summer: Peak Season for Reptile Sightings
The fact that such incidents are particularly frequent right now has two reasons: On the one hand, pets are often abandoned during the holiday season — out of being overwhelmed or because they are inconvenient when vacation plans arise. «On the other hand, reptile activity increases at higher temperatures, as cold-blooded animals become especially mobile in summer,» explains biologist Altherr. Abandoned animals therefore often only become «sighted» much later.
Federal Government Must Act
“Keeping exotic animals is not a harmless hobby, but an animal and species protection problem and often also a health risk,» warns the Pro Wildlife spokesperson in conclusion. “We need a statutory positive list at the federal level — to protect people, animals, and the environment.”
